LOCAL CONDITIONS AND IMPACTS OF THE AVALANCHES. CASE STUDIES IN REPRESENTATIVE SECTORS WITHIN PIATRA CRAIULUI AND FĂGĂRAȘ MOUNTAINS

Abstract

Genesis conditions and effects of avalanches. Case studies in representative sectors within Piatra Craiului and Fagars mountains. The present paper aims at investigating the avalanches and their impact on the environment components. Snow avalanches are natural phenomena, which are controlled by the specific features of the mountain realm. They start suddenly due to the combination of meteorological and non-meteorological factors, which make the loose materials (snow, ice, detritus, vegetation or soil) collapse or slide down along the slope. In consequence, erosion is increased or facilitated because of the impact they have on the other components of the environment (thalwegs deepening, forest destruction). The distribution of avalanches is hard to be highlighted, because of the inaccessible lands and the adverse meteorological conditions. From this reason, one needs to know their complex features, namely the morphology, vegetation and spatial dynamics of the areas prone to such phenomena. The effects on the environment can be easily identified in the mountain realm, inasmuch as they create typical corridors along the streams crossing the forests. At the same time, however, they have certain effects on the slope deposits, too. These will be further presented with examples for the eastern slope of the Piatra Craiului Mts. and the Suru – Negoiu section in the Făgăraș Mts. These areas are deemed representative for each of the mentioned mountain massifs.

Keywords

• snow avalanches
• morphological genesis conditions
• impact
• Piatra Craiului Mts.
• Făgăraș Mts.
• Carpathian